Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Before you read
further, look at the webpage on
Facebook for 318 2nd St. Street (click here). What has happened architecturally
at 318 2nd St. is not just a renovatation, it is a remarkable transformation, if
not a miracle, especially in the interior. Going against the American grain, in which appearance is everything,
the exterior of the new 318 is simple and unprepossessing. Contrast it in that
respect with the Marting building, which is really three old buildings with a
phony, pretentious soulless façade hiding a dark, dank interior.

The owners, Gary and Tim,
have turned the the former crack house into a state-of-the-art student residence that makes the dormitories in Hatcherville look like
Hoovervilles, and they have done it, if what they told me is accurate, without
the kind of public assistance, tax breaks, and financial guarantees that Neal Hatcher squeezes
out of local public officials, who are his political puppets.

The history of the building at 318 2nd St. reflects the history of
Portsmouth in the last half century when hundreds of buildings fell into disrepair, and ended up
like orphans after a plague, the plague of drugs. For a while, the way a pimp
might corral desperate down-and-out
dollar prostitutes, Shane DeSimone had bought 318 2nd St. from a Kentucky bank
along with a number of other abandoned Portsmouth
buildings. For a previous post on DeSimone, click here. But DeSimone could not keep up with
the payments on the buildings, declared bankruptcy, and the city was stuck with his buildings, including 318 2nd St., which had been a crack house where drug deals went down at the back door day and night.The neighbors complained and the city condemned the
building, which meant it was destined to be torn down. But like a prisoner on
death row, it had to wait its turn before it could be demolished, and there
were lots of others in line ahead of it. That’s when Gary and Tim bought the
building for a couple of thousand dollars with the aim of raising
it, like Lazarus, from the dead.

It would take many more thousands of dollars and a lot of work,
but in an incredible display of
entrepreneurial daring they took the
risk. Some people thought they were loco, but they
displayed just the kind of
entrepreneurial, competitive spirit that Portsmouth needs. They hope that the members of one of SSU’s athletic teams might be tenants,
say the women’s basketball team, because the building is ideal for a group of
students who have bonded together, as athletic teams tend to do. In the deal Hatcher has with SSU, he cannot
lose, there is no risk, because the university guarantees that if the occupancy
rate in Hatcherville residence halls falls below a certain percent, he will be
reimbursed by the university. (For more on Hatcherville, click here.) Corruption and non-competitive sweetheart deals
are the norm when it comes to buying and selling property in Portsmouth, as it
was in the notorious sale of the Marting building. Gary and Tim have no such sweetheart deal.
But they have heart and imagination. They have a dream, a beautiful dream, and
it looks like the dream is becoming a reality.

Jims open litter iz not so
much a litter az a chronicul of govinment cunfusion, cullusion, and dilusion
in witch Jim cumplanes Kevin always kept him, that iz Jim, out of the loop privyusly
but iz trying’ to suck up to him now that Kevin iz on the sity man’gers shitlist.

Bee that
az it may, Jims litter to Kevin W. begins,

"Hello Vice President Kevin W.”

He leaves
off hiz last name witch iz suposed too bee
sarkastick like you wood begin a litter
to the president, “Hello President B’rack Husane,” leavin’ off hiz last name
Obummer. Summite say iffen he rit the litter hisself he cud cum up with
sumthin’ better like, “Hello Vice President Kevin W. who I woodn’t piss on if you waz shit on fire.”
But la-dee-da Jim sez insted,
"I copied this correspondence to all concerned because, well, that’s just
the proper way to do things (in my opinion)." Wat Jims reely doin' ritin’ fancee-dancee like this iz
makin' fun of kweers who rite like that. Then Jim sez
supersillyous, “I
don’t know if you have ever read the Charter, you don’t understand the language
in the Charter or you just flat out refuse to abide by the Charter and other
laws/rules governing Council.” Jim leckturing Kevin W. on vilelating the chatter
iz ironick cuz Jim iz the biggist vilelator of the chatter in the anals of
Porchmuth like he did on the Martin’ bilding and the Kiwanis Playground. Hell,
there aint nobuddy who vilelates the chatter more’n Jim.

Jim also ‘cuses
Kevin of subvertin’ the Design and Review Bored. Speekin’ of bored, don't we
have more than enuff bored fellas in sity govinment and nobuddy more so than
Jim, as shone in the classick schnapshot
of him ketchin’ twenty winks during a counsil
meatin'.

As fur Kevin’s dilutions
of grander, Jim in hiz litter quotes an emale in witch Kevin rote,“As you know, Derek is called by our
fire or police Chief whenever there is a fire, homicide, robbery or a bear in
the city. I have asked to be called as well; as the Mayor (or Acting Mayor, in
my case, effective July 1) I should be aware of such activity.” In uther wurds,
Kevin W. wants to be in the loop as much az he wants to keep Jim out of the
loop. If theres a bear or a bare-ass stewdent running up Chillyclothy street, Kevin
W. wants to be woked up and tolled about it.

Then in a kleer warnin’ to Kevin W.,
Jim kwotes the city chatter like it’s
the Bibull, the furst commandmint being you better
follow the chatter or you cud end up convickted: “Any violation of
the provisions of this section by a member of the Council shall be a
misdemeanor, conviction of which shall immediately forfeit the office of the
member so convicted.”Of coarse our currant sity man’ger wuz prevously
convicted of lying under oath about givin’ a buddy of his a no-bid contrack for
gravil or sumthin’ butt he waz hired anyway. In fakt, I think one of the
kwalifications fur the job waz you gut to have a please record or at least to have been a
bankcorrupt.

Jim allso cumplains in
his litter ‘bout Kevin tellin’ Drek to take a vacation.Kevin tellin’ Drek to
take a brake iz like Hitler rekomending that Muscleenie becuz he’s virgin on a
nervuss brakedown shood take a long vakation and leeve Itally to the Nasties.“Not your call Kevin,” Jim sez in his opin litter. “The City Manager
is perfectly capable of scheduling a vacation for himself when he feels the
need.”

Here’s the hippocritical
enden of Jims opin litter to Kevin W. “Since
you took a seat on City Council I’ve witnessed a loss of confidence that
Portsmouth residents have in their city government. I’ve seen nothing from you
but hidden agendas and a failure to follow the laws and rules governing the
city. I’ve watched you speak for City Council as a whole without being asked.
You thrive on controversy and you constantly share information with the media
before it is ever discussed by Council. Now allow me to ask a question of
you: Do you plan to continue your actions on City Council as you have to this
point? If you have no intentions of changing, would you consider making it easier
on everybody and cheaper on the City and just resign your seat on Portsmouth
City Council?”

Jims crittersizin’ Kevin W. Johnson on vilelating
the city chatter iz ironick cuz like he did on the Martin’ bilding and the Kiwanis
Playground, Jim iz the biggest vilelator
of the city chatter in the hisorry of Porchmuth. Hell, there aint nobuddy who haz
ever vilelated the chatter more’n Jim.

Iz this what sity
managemint govinment in Porchmuth haz cum too? The bankruptured, incompitent Kroaker
clerk a-lying with the convickted sity man’ger aginst the Connivin’ Actin’
Mayor affective July 1? Guvnor Kasick haz got it rong. It aint the devil whose in controll in
Porchmuth, itz the lawyers and develuppers that pulls the strings of the underhanded,
bankruptured and incompetint politishins of witch the out-to-lunch Jim Kalb is
the epitymee.

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About Me

Retired now, I was born in Boston, Massachusetts, hold B.A. and M.A. degrees in English from Wesleyan U. (Conn.) and a Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale, where I was a Research Associate at the Institute for Social and Policy Studies and a coordinator of a committee that organized international American Studies conferences during the American Bicentennial. From 1989-2006, I taught English at Shawnee State U., in Portsmouth, Ohio, where I was active in the faculty union, the Shawnee Education Association, serving four terms as president. I also served as faculty advisor to the student gay and lesbian group. I have served also as president of the Concerned Citizens of Portmouth and Scioto County, a community action group.
My scholarly interests have focused on the American Dream: the Myth and the Realities.
I can be reached at rforr1@roadrunner.com
A selection of my poems can be found at http://xpalidosis.blogspot.com The original contents of all blogs on this site are copyrighted @.